There are many news today! To top it off, Girls Generation will be the Spokesperson for Blade and Soul China.

P.S. I just realised my account has been activated for the upcoming CBT! For all foreigners who had the chance to play the last 3rd CBT and the Test Servers, your account is automatically unlocked for the upcoming CBT. You just need to visit the official site to apply for unlock.I will be playing on the 网通一区 server since some of my friends received their Close Beta Codes as well. 网通 is a service that provides better connection for players outside of China, so if you get the codes. please join me there.

There are a few ways to get your CBT codes if you can't wait for OBT. (There are a lot more but I decided to cover these 2 that is easy for foreigners)

I will continue to find ways for your guys to get your CBT Codes. Unlike the other CBTs, this CBT is non-account-deletion, which in my context is a limited access OBT. I have translated an interview between the Gaming Media 17173 and official Tencent Staff below.

Final Close Beta Event Roll out

Following is an interview conducted by 17173 media with the staff of Tencent on 14/10/13 regarding the news on the content for CBT/OBT. It has been confirmed that the final Non-Account-Deletion CBT will be going "live" on 29/10/13. This CBT will be broken down into 2 phases. During the 1st Phase, players would need CBT codes to enter the game while the 2nd Phase is open to all players. (Which is equivalent to an OBT)

Interview between 17173 media and Tencent

The following is an interview conducted by 17173 media with the staff of Tencent on 14/10/13 regarding the news on the content for CBT/OBT. It has been confirmed that the final Non-Account-Deletion CBT will be going "live" on 29/10/13. This CBT will be broken down into 2 phases. During the 1st Phase, players would need CBT codes to enter the game while the 2nd Phase is open to all players. (I got a feeling its equivalent to OBT)

Q1: What will be the available content on the CBT servers when it goes "live" on the 29/10?

The content will be exactly the same as the Play Test Server, there will be adjustments made to the economy system and Cash Shop.

Q2: Will there be a difference to the costumes offered between the China and Korean version?

BNS CN will have our own limited edition Chinese costumes coupled with Chinese headdress. More costumes will be available in the future, designed to suit the taste of the local audience.

Q3: Players have complained that it is very hard to earn gold during level 1 to 36. However from level 37 to 42, the game suddenly changes pace and start handing out a lot more gold for completed quests. This is quite imbalance, would there be any changes in the future?

This is one of the aspects we wish to test during this CBT. There were some amendments done to the Play Test Server according to the player's feedback. We will monitor the progress and feedback of the CBT players and do the necessary fine tuning.

Q4: At the Test Server, through the use of 汇丰行 Currency Exchange platform, the Points Coupon received are binding and could only purchase limited items. Will there be any changes to this?

As the Test Server focus was not on the Cash Shop, therefore the items available are very limited. During CBT and OBT, Point Coupons can be used to purchase everything within the Cash Shop with no limitations.

Q5: Now the QingGong is quite standard and serves the purpose of gliding and speed acceleration. Are you guys considering coming up with more QingGong? Would you have a QingGong that can be used during combat?

During the Test Server, we have added small animations to the QingGong. (This is unique only to the CN version, and not available in the Kr version) We will continue to create and make the QingGong more flashy. We had a discussion with NCsoft regarding brand new QingGong. It will take some time to fine tune before its released to the players at a much later date.

Q6: For the PVP arena, every player will have their skills unlocked to Level 45. Equipment and abilities will affect the outcome of the battle. Will there be a balanced PVP option, where equipment are disregarded?

Moving forward, this will be divided into two aspects.

1. Better Match Making

Players will par against other players who are close to your level to make it a more fair fight.

2. More PVP options

There will be more PVP options and variants to suit the needs of PVP hungry players

**Updated**

Q7: What is the purpose of this CBT that has two phases? Why not just release OBT?

As the game is almost ready for launch, we are allowing more players to participate in the stress test servers of CBT. Accounts that participated in this CBT will be kept when OBT launches. This time its not about testing the game anymore, its about letting players enjoy Blade and Soul finally.

Q8: Will the characters within the CBT account be kept?

All characters will be kept unless there is some major change to the game.

Q9: What is the level cap and content for this CBT?

From 29th October, players will get to enjoy content up to the Level 36 cap , which means the 大漠 Desert Area.

Q10: How many servers will be available for this CBT?

There will be 3 available servers, 电信一区，电信二区 and 网通一区

Alright now everyone has been asking when is OBT? A lot of sources points to as early as 1st December. It will take close to 4 weeks for players in the CBT servers to reach level 45 cap. Tencent has already made plans for Girls Generation to make their appearance in TGC, Tencent's very own gaming convention. Therefore I do not believe OBT will be released before this date. This is to garner more hype and media attention for the game. Tencent will be wise to take this chance to announce the date for OBT and robe in all its fans. I also think that Pohwan Instance and Mushin Tower will be released when OBT is announced, so the current CBT players will also get new content. This is just my speculation, so please take it with a pinch of salt. =)